peace in suffering

Election Day USA, Meditation from Sunday's Mass

When following along in the missal this past Sunday, at the Tridentine Mass, it struck me how appropriate these sentiments were for a Sunday before Election Day….particularly this Election Day. This Mass was the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, otherwise known as the Resumed 4th Sunday after Epiphany (I know, that sounds complicated, please don’t ask me to explain it:)

Here is some of the text, for your meditation this week, as the USA attempts to peacefully elect its next President, along with numerous other votes on the ballots. We need prayers for a peaceful transition of power, no matter how the elections go. Prayers for accurate election results. Prayers for the unborn, religious freedom and freedom in general, from an increasingly tyrannical government. These words speak of trust, in spite of the darkness of this world. They speak of the universal human condition of imperfection and suffering. The Gospel depicts the Apostles with Our Lord on the stormy sea. The sea is a metaphor for life itself. Yes, these are hard times and harder times are clearly coming, but we must retain faith…not only for the world, but for Holy Church as well. All will be made right in the end. Patience and trust.

I am including here, some regular parts of the Mass, which speak so eloquently of times such as these.

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(Psalm 42)
P: Judge me, O God, and distinguish
my cause from the unholy nation,
deliver me from the unjust and
deceitful man.
S: For Thou, O God, art my strength,
why hast Thou cast me off? And why
do I go about in sadness, while the
enemy afflicts me?
P: Send forth Thy light and Thy truth:
they have conducted me and brought
me unto Thy holy mount, and into Thy
tabernacles.
S: And I will go unto the altar of God: to
God, Who gives joy to my youth.
P: I shall praise Thee upon the harp, O
God, my God. Why are you sad, O my
soul, and why do you disquiet me?
S: Hope in God, for I will still praise
Him, the salvation of my countenance,
and my God.

The Lord saith: I think thoughts of
peace, and not of affliction: you shall
call upon Me, and I will hear you; and
I will bring back your captivity from all
places. (Ps. 84: 2) Lord, Thou hast
blessed Thy land: Thou hast turned
away the captivity of Jacob.

O God, Who knowest us to be set in
the midst of dangers so great that, by
reason of the frailty of our nature, we
cannot always withstand; grant to us
health of mind and body, that being
helped by Thee, we may overcome
the things which we suffer for our
sins.

Thou hast delivered us, O Lord, from
them that afflict us: and hast put them
to shame that hate us. In God we will
glory all the day: and in Thy name we
will give praise forever. (Ps. 129: 1-2)

Alleluia, alleluia.

Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my prayer.

Alleluia.

(Matthew 8:23-27)
At that time, when Jesus entered into
the boat, His disciples followed Him:
and behold a great tempest arose in
the sea, so that the boat was covered
with waves, but He was asleep. And
His disciples came to Him and awoke
Him, saying: Lord, save us, we
perish. And Jesus saith to them: Why
are you fearful, O ye of little faith?
Then rising up, He commanded the
winds and the sea, and there came a
great calm. But the men wondered,
saying: What manner of man is this,
for the winds and the sea obey him?

I have loved, O Lord, the
beauty of Thy house and the place
where Thy glory dwelleth. Destroy not
my soul, O God, with the wicked, nor
my life with men of blood. In whose
hands are iniquities, their right hand is
full with gifts. But I have walked in my
innocence: redeem me, and have
mercy on me. My foot has stood on
the right path; in the churches I will
bless Thee, O Lord.

P: Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O
Lord, from all evils, past, present, and
to come; and by the intercession of the
blessed and glorious ever-Virgin Mary,
Mother of God, together with Thy
blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and
Andrew, and all the Saints, mercifully
grant peace in our days, that sustained
by the help of Thy mercy, we may be
always free from sin and secure from
all disturbance.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.


P: O Lord Jesus Christ, Who said to
Thine Apostles: Peace I leave you, My
peace I give you; regard not my sins,
but the faith of Thy Church, and deign
to grant her peace and to unify her
according to Thy will.

What return shall I render unto the
Lord for all He has given me? I will
take the Chalice of salvation, and I will
call upon the name of the Lord.
Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I
shall be saved from my enemies.

Amen I say to you,

whatsoever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive, and it shall be done to you.

May Thy gifts, O God, detach us from
earthly pleasures, and ever
strengthen us with heavenly
refreshment.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of
men. And the light shineth in darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it…

That was the true light, which enlighteneth
every man that cometh into this world.
He was in the world, and the world was
made by Him, and the world knew Him
not. He came unto His own, and His
own received Him not. But as many as
received Him, He gave them power to
be made the sons of God, to them that
believe in His name. Who are born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God.


AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH,

and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,

the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,

full of grace and truth.

Thanks be to God!

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows-Part 2

In Part 1, the image from The Divine Mercy website states: 

“The Key to Peace:  Emulate Mary’s Surrender.”

Why did Our Blessed Lord give us His Mother (through Saint John), from the Holy Cross, as He suffered so terribly?  Why has Holy Church given her the title “Our Lady of Sorrows?”  It is to honor her, of course, and her grievous pain.  It is also for the purpose of ministering to us, the Body of Christ.  Suffering is part of life.  During these unprecedented times, the trials of humanity are unique in history.  We know not what the future holds, but we do know it will be greatly challenging, and in fact, already is.  Our Blessed Mother teaches us the way to suffer in peace.  It seems a contradiction, but all is possible with God’s grace.  Even through the worst of Our Lord’s Passion, she never despaired, trusting in God’s plan for salvation.  We can do the same.  Emulate her surrender.

On the above link, there is an article by the late Stephen LaChance.   He brings out a great insight on the “Pieta” sculpture…

Michelangelo has carved into his Pieta an element as profound as it is subtle. Off to one side, almost hidden behind the lifeless body of Christ, Mary's left hand lies open in a sign of surrender to God. This gesture symbolizes her entire life.

In the Scriptures, starting with the words of her fiat, "Be it done unto me according to your word," to her patient waiting for the descent of the Holy Spirit, we see Mary living in complete acceptance of the will of God.  Tradition has developed this surrender as epitomized in seven of Mary's sorrows:

The Prophesy of Simeon, The Exile in Egypt, The Loss of Jesus in the Temple, The Way of the Cross, The Crucifixion, The Descent from the Cross, The Burial of Jesus

He goes on to discuss the feast of the Triumph (Exaltation) of the Holy Cross…

Standing by the cross of her Son, she offers all these pains for our benefit.  Standing with her, we see the solution to the problem of evil. We look at the all-powerful, all-good God and see Him suffer and die, in the Person of Christ.

This seeming contradiction has led the Church to celebrate a feast called the Triumph of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14). This triumph is the paradox of the cross, which St. Paul calls "a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

This feast is celebrated the day before the Sorrows of Mary. It makes sense that these two feasts are so connected, but it is surprising that the Triumph comes before the Sorrows. Where else in the world does triumph come before sorrow, or when does victory come before the battle?  Yet the inspired wisdom of the Church does not fail us in this regard. For it is only in light of the Triumph of the Cross that the Sorrows of Mary and our sorrows have any meaning.

Take a look at The Divine Mercy site for the full article and much more.  Their shrine is in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.  It is a beautiful place.  I will be there with my family in 2 weeks!

Our Lady of Sorrows, or the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, is celebrated September 15th.  We will post the prayers from the Tridentine Mass on that day.  Though this month has a sad cast to it, remember we also honored Mary’s joyful nativity on the 8th and will honor the Most Holy Name of Mary on the 12th.

Some other feasts of note are:  The Ember Days of Autumn (prayer and penance for the coming season), starting on the 20th, Saint Matthew on the 21st, Saint Padre Pio on the 23rd and the Archangels on the 29th.  For the full traditional calendar, please see:  calefactory.org